


summer's end

by dwyndling



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Compliant, Childhood Friends, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Kingdom Hearts III - Re Mind DLC Spoilers, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Songfic, also guest starring kairi's inferiority complex, guest starring sora's horrible self esteem, implied rikunami, this.....was not Meant to be angst but
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 10:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24349423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwyndling/pseuds/dwyndling
Summary: Sora's smile has been a little stilted, ever since they got back. Kairi simply holds his hand a little tighter.
Relationships: Kairi & Naminé (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 36





	summer's end

_We were both young when I first saw you._

_I close my eyes and the flashback starts:_

_I'm standing there_

_On a balcony in summer air._

  
  


When their feet first touch the ground, Kairi almost expects to sink into the water below. Instead, the surface merely ripples lightly, away from where their shoes rest gently on the surface. 

Sora’s hands on her arm pull away, and she finds she has the presence of mind to miss the touch. Everything is still so fresh against her senses, after that odd period of hazy numbness. Even during their fight against...whatever that thing was, her ears had rung and her vision had swum, the lights and clamor of battle doing nothing to aid it.

He had said she was ‘crystallized’ for that blurry period of time that apparently happened, but all Kairi can really think of it in that moment was that it had felt a little like falling asleep underwater, drifting without knowledge of ‘who’ or ‘what’ or ‘when’. 

_It happened again. That numbness was nothing like the warm depths of the back of Sora’s heart._

It is a full bodied relief to stand here with flesh and blood at Sora’s side. The world stays firmly in place where it should be, and the only thing in her ears is the sounds of their voices against empty air.

The small grey cat-creature whom Sora has already befriended makes a knowing comment as they glance between the two, and Sora turns to her to shrug helplessly, a smile playing over his face. She laughs along, the feeling warm and bright at the front of her chest. 

Chirithy doesn’t know them, doesn’t know their story. Or at least...probably not. It’s a small moment, and Sora hurries on, extending an invitation of reunion to the creature. 

The moment hardly lasted a breath. 

But...the very idea that someone she doesn’t know would go out of their way to give her a moment extra with her...with Sora, burns with a fever pitch. For once, someone is not trying to tear them apart.

_See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns,_

_See you make your way through the crowd,_

_And say, "Hello."_

_Little did I know..._

  
  


The fireworks above sparkle with jubilant flair against the night sky. Explosions of pink, yellow, green, blue, violet...cascading from the sky like glittering rain.

It was certainly a task, to climb up onto the castle ramparts without getting caught by the guards or one of Sora’s friends in the courtyard below. Kairi can still feel the burn in her chest from being slightly winded, and even Sora looks like he needs a moment to recover from vaulting the shrubbery.

Chirithy has no such dilemma, and the little creature leaps and twirls in the ever-changing light. Apparently, it’s their first time in a long while seeing such a lively celebration. Disney Castle does not hold back on the magnitude of their celebration for their king and company’s return, and the fireworks and revelry carry on long into the night.

Sora’s eyes sparkle with the lively fire of the party, reflected in the umbral sky. The blue is hued with the glittering rainbow above, and he blinks curiously at her when he catches her staring.

Kairi tears her gaze away to stare down at the celebration below. “You really haven’t changed at all.”

It might be her imagination, or perhaps it’s the sudden explosion of a multitude of rose and ruby colored sparklers. Sora’s face flushes red in the lights from above. Something like a wistful smile crosses his features.

“I think...actually, no. I guess you’re right.” The ensuing chuckle is more than a little rueful. “I haven’t really grown up at all.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Looking down, a feeling swirls in the pit of Kairi’s stomach, looking at the dark drop down the wall and into the garden, legs swinging far above. “You’ve had to be so much for everyone else, but despite it all you’re still you.

“And you won, Sora.” She can’t stop the overwide smile that threatens to split her face in half. “You won, and everyone’s safe now.” The adrenaline of sitting so high up fades by comparison to the giddy feeling that floods her bloodstream.

_Finally...it’s over. We’re finally together now._

Sora’s eyes widen slightly as he takes in her expression. 

“Yeah...I guess you’re right.”

  
  


_So, I sneak out to the garden to see you._

_We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew._

  
  


There’s some hesitation to work through first, but before long, Chirithy is swept up in Ven’s arms for what Kairi imagines is going to be a bit of a confusing introduction to Terra and Aqua.

Sora’s grin is still bright as he watches the little creature go. His hair glows honey colored in the bright light of the late afternoon, as high up in the mountains as they are. 

It’s tempting to directly ask why Sora himself isn’t chasing after Ven to have their own reunion. It seems unbelievable that he _wouldn’t_ want to, not when Sora and Ventus most likely still have a lot to discuss. 

What is it that’s keeping him here, lingering behind the corner of a building with her? She could attempt a guess or three, but perhaps the true answer would squash the feeling of butterflies gently fluttering around in her stomach. 

And so Kairi stays quiet, and allows herself to soak up this time spent alone together with Sora like a cat in the sun. 

He turns to her then, blue eyes sparkling in the light. “Kairi, have you ever been here before?”

She shakes her head, gently, caught up in trying to burn the view into her retinas. “Never.”

“Then I have something to show you!” Without warning, Sora takes her hand and breaks into a run, and for some reason, the only thing Kairi can think of is how different of a sound it makes to run on grass rather than sand. 

He shows her the sky, and the way the peaks of the mountains are shrouded in cloudy mist. The way the sky seems close enough to touch, embracing them like a pastel blanket far above. 

Sora doesn’t let go of her hand once, in all the time they spend picking their way through high mountain paths and gazing to where the horizon is hidden under fluffy white clouds. He points out where sprigs of flowers grow amidst the rock face, and little waterfalls that trickle down gracefully to grow into rushing rivers far below.

The dance of the butterflies within her crescendos into a waltz, and, as if from far away, the thought crosses Kairi’s mind that if the crystal truly had claimed her life, this moment is a paradise she would not resent.

  
  


_I'll be waiting._

_You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess._

  
  


When Sora hands her the ice cream, his face is pensive, like he’s thinking about something very far away and long ago.

She watches him, unsure if it’s alright to ask or not. “Is everything...alright?”

The sounds of Roxas and Xion and Lea and all their friends drift upwards, a much rowdier gathering than the silence that has curled around the two of them. She barely knows the boy with Sora’s eyes or the girl with her face, and yet…

It is yet another blessing of this bountiful day, to hear their unburdened laughter ring out against the sky. 

Sora’s feet are swinging gently where they dangle off the edge, and Kairi finds hers swinging alongside them in unconscious solidarity. “It’s alright.” Sora’s smile is tinged with bittersweetness, and he looks fondly down to the well-populated ledge below them. “I’m just glad that...that things could turn out so well.”

He must be tired, is the only explanation that Kairi can come up with. The Sora she remembers would be bursting with energy, eager to go down and sweep everyone into a celebratory hug. He’d be the loudest of them all, and someone would probably have to force him not to jump up and down in excitement so close to the roof’s ledge.

Instead, Sora had tugged her upwards, pulling her upwards in a jump like his knees are made of elastic, and their seat is sequestered high and away from the noise. It’s doubtful if anyone else has even noticed that they’re there at all. 

She takes another bite of the ice cream he’d bought for them in the town square. The sweetness of ice and sugar and whatever it is that makes it that fluorescent shade of blue...and then salty, like the ocean waves.

It tastes...oddly familiar. Her throat clenches on instinct.

“I knew you could do it, Sora.” Kairi finds her face unconsciously creasing into a smile. “And you did.”

Sora doesn’t respond for a moment, and it’s with a slight tinge of off-ness that Kairi notices he’s barely taken two bites out of his ice cream.

“We all did!” The feeling fades as she turns her head to meet the gaze of the Sora she knows, smile brighter and more unrestrained than that of the sunset everyone else is watching. “I couldn’t have done anything without your guys’ help.”

It’s impossible to stop smiling, in the face of him. “We barely did anything.” For a moment, there’s a sour taste in the back of her mouth, and a grip like a vice is holding her wrist in the air, and an awful numbness has settled into the back of her vision, and a pain like a thousand fiery lances _strikes_ across the center of her back and then-

Sora’s hand closes over hers where it sits on the ground between them. “Kairi…” He shifts in place, angling his knees towards her. “If it hadn’t been for you, I would’ve given up.”

The words ring painfully honest in the air between them, and slowly, Kairi lifts her eyes to meet his. Sora is still smiling, but now it carries something she doesn’t recognize when it’s on _his_ face. 

_‘You’ like all of you or ‘you’ like...me?_

The words can’t quite get past the sudden lump in her throat. 

  
  


_I got tired of waiting,_

_Wondering if you were ever coming around._

  
  


The feeling of Naminé’s heart leaving her is a little bit like an exhale. It is the loss of something precious, but it is not painful, not when she knows the heart is being effortlessly carried to a body of it’s very own. 

Sora allows the Kingdom Key to disappear in a flurry of sparkles, and looks her up and down with an expression of both curiosity and concern. “You alright? Still feel all there?”

“Yep.” She places a hand over her chest, now that the breathy white glow has faded. “Everything...everything is as it should be, now.”

Everything feels a little emptier, a little more weightless. Kairi feels a little off balance, but it is the same freedom of finally being unshackled from something you were not meant to carry. Not that Naminé has ever been a burden, far from it. It was an honor to carry her for a time, even if neither of them had really had a choice in the matter.

But Naminé’s life is now her own, beholden to no other heart and no other body. She will look at the sky and the fireworks and feel the breeze and heat on her _own_ skin. Hands will be there to hold hers, and there will be no barrier between her and all the love the worlds have to offer.

“Kairi-!!”

With a start, Kairi raises her hand to brush away at the tears that are dripping down the side of her face. “It’s alright.” She raises her face to meet Sora’s concerned gaze, and offers him a watery smile. “It doesn’t hurt.”

It does, in an odd way. But the pain fades away within moments, and thoughts spring to mind of getting to show Naminé all her favorite places on the islands, introducing her to her friends from school, and finally getting a real chance to sit down and _talk_ to the girl who has been quietly resting in her chest.

Sora must understand...or maybe his situation with Roxas is somewhat different. She’ll have to ask about it later; surely all four of them will get to be in the same place at _some_ point. 

A crooked smile has been spreading it’s way over Sora’s face, and Kairi tilts her head to the side in curiosity. “What is it?”

The mischief in that grin gives her an odd sense of deja vu, to a moment from two years ago when they had come together as a united front to bury an innocently napping Riku in sand. “I just remembered something.”

“Well what is it?” Kairi plants her hands on her hips and leans forward into Sora’s face. “You can’t just say something with that tone and not tell me.”

He gives her an exaggerated wink. “I think Naminé is going to be just fine. She’s got a taxi waiting just for her, after all.”

It takes a moment and a half for it to click before Kairi understands. “Oh. _Oh.”_

Sora makes an overly amused face back at her, and their ensuing laughter mingles together, hushed in the back alley they’re currently sequestered in. They’re hidden round the back of the castle, and try as she might, Kairi can’t come up with the slightest bit of familiarity for the area.

...that’s a problem for another day. For now, they’ve done what they came here for.

  
  


_I keep waiting for you, but you never come._

_Is this in my head? I don't know what to think._

_He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said,_

  
  


The sounds of the party on the beach are hardly more than a murmur in the background.

Something is wrong.

The look on Sora’s face is placid, as he watches the waves. The twilight is still warm; even as the beginning of autumn approaches, the days of summer are not quite yet gone.

Kairi _knows_ something is wrong when Sora’s hand curls over her own again, squeezing a little harder than he probably intended to. Something bitter and angry whispers in her chest, a hardened and tiny voice saying _he doesn’t trust you, something is going on that he hasn’t told you about, you’re never going to be enough to keep up with him-_

“Kairi?” He’s not looking at her, even as Kairi shifts to better face him from her spot on the tree. 

She swallows around the tightness in her throat, and speaks through it anyway. “What?”

“I...I need to apologize.”

The tightness in her throat only intensifies, and Kairi bows her head slightly at the burn of it. The taste of resignation is a bitter one. 

_You might as well get used to it._

“I might’ve…” Sora scratches the side of his face, a nervous tick he’s had for years and years. “I might’ve messed a few things up and...uh…”

He turns to her, expression downcast. “I think I have to go away for awhile.”

Questions are ripping their claws at the front of her throat, begging to be said, begging to be _answered._ Instead, Kairi focuses on the tired slopes of Sora’s face. 

“How long?”

“I...don’t know.”

Silence hangs in the air between them for a moment, Sora gnawing on his bottom lip, and Kairi staring out towards the sun as though an answer will appear in the sky if she squints hard enough.

“...oh.”

The light of the sunset blurs, the colors mixing and pooling together in Kairi’s vision until it’s nothing more than a wash of color light, with no sense or meaning to it.

Sora’s hand tightens around her own, and she blinks. The world resets it’s order, and the sky makes sense again. Her vision is clear, but the tears have been set loose, gleaming in the bright light.

“Sora, I…” A thousand things bubble up in her chest. A thousand ways to finish this sentence, a thousand paths which they could all lead down. For a moment, the anxiety rises to a fever pitch, a terrifying refrain of _nothing you say will ever be enough. Nothing you say will ever be enough. Nothing you do could ever-_

Any and all worries fade to a murmur when Sora looks at her, blue eyes wide and _happy._ The whispers are easy to ignore when he smiles like he would move the planets for her. 

Something feels like he has.

“Kairi.”

Her head tilts in acknowledgement, even as tears continue streaming down her face. It’s too much to speak.

“Can you...can you give me one thing? Before I…” Something catches in Sora’s throat.

She’s already nodding even as he trails off, her grasp around Sora’s fingers instinctively tightening.

“Would you smile for me, Kairi?”

A noise erupts from the back of her throat, something between a keen of anger and a sob. Sora’s expression only softens further. 

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. But Kairi, I just wanted to say that you’ll be okay. You don’t need me to protect you. I...didn’t want you to think that.”

Her hand curls around Sora’s tightly, clenching with all the strength she has, as if that will somehow be enough to keep him rooted to the tree, right next to her.

It’s too much. There’s not enough time to say everything she wants to, there could never be enough time to put this feeling into human words.

And so instead, Kairi smiles, as wide as she can. Sora smiles back even wider, and for a moment, he is far brighter and more radiant than any sun could ever hope to be.

In the next moment, Kairi is alone.

  
  


_'Cause we were both young when I first saw you._

  
  



End file.
